Category: Guest post

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Disentangling disease transmission in Madagascar fruit bats

Bats can carry various diseases, including many which are transferable to humans. A recent study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology investigated disease extent, seasonality, and mechanisms of transmission among Malagasy fruit bats. Lead author Dr Cara Brook (Princeton University and UC Berkeley) explains more about the paper. Bats (order Chiroptera) have received much attention in recent years for their roles as reservoirs for … Continue reading Disentangling disease transmission in Madagascar fruit bats

Unknown's avatarSarah MarleyLeave a comment
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Lovers and fighters, and how their coexistence affects their evolution within an eco-evolutionary feedback loop

Eco-evolutionary dynamics are well studied but the term is applied to a wide variety of effects and interactions. Yet comparing these different types of studies on eco-evolutionary dynamics will inform on how this field can move forward, which is precisely the aim of a recent British Ecological Society cross-journal Special Feature. Here,  Isabel Smallegange (an Associate Professor of Population Biology at the University of Amsterdam) … Continue reading Lovers and fighters, and how their coexistence affects their evolution within an eco-evolutionary feedback loop

Unknown's avatarSarah MarleyLeave a comment
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Urbanization alters predator‐avoidance behaviours

Urbanisation is changing the natural landscape at a global scale. This obviously alters habitat structures, but what is the influence on predator-prey dynamics? A recent paper in the Journal of Animal Ecology studied two urban prey species to examine whether urbanisation changed their predator-avoidance behaviour. Lead author Dr Travis Gallo, an Urban Wildlife Postdoctoral Researcher at the Urban Wildlife Institute, Lincoln Park Zoo, tells us … Continue reading Urbanization alters predator‐avoidance behaviours

Unknown's avatarSarah MarleyLeave a comment
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Weak effects of geolocators on small birds

Biologging is a powerful tool and often utilised to study animal movement patterns. But how can researchers be sure that the tag itself does not negatively impact the study animal? A recent meta-analysis published in the Journal of Animal Ecology investigated the effects of geolocators on small birds. Lead author Vojtěch Brlík explains the #StoryBehindThePaper and the study results. When I was discussing suitable topics for my bachelor’s … Continue reading Weak effects of geolocators on small birds

Unknown's avatarSarah Marley1 Comment
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Hungry lizards catch the worms

Parasite transmission is dependent upon host diet and habitat use. A recent paper in the Journal of Animal Ecology examined over 350 species of lizard in search of a link between parasite diversity and lizard ecology. Here to tell us more is lead author Dr Tommy Leung, a Lecturer in Parasitology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of New England, Australia. All animals are infected with … Continue reading Hungry lizards catch the worms

Unknown's avatarSarah MarleyLeave a comment
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Parasitism and Host Diet Quality in Natural Populations

Parasite-host relationships can be amazingly complex. Parasites can even alter host diets. But how exactly does this work? Dr Charlotte Narr, a Research Scientist at Colorado State University’s Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, recently published an article on just this topic in the Journal of Animal Ecology.  When you’re sick, your relationship with food changes. You might lose your appetite or have trouble digesting certain foods. Pregnancy … Continue reading Parasitism and Host Diet Quality in Natural Populations

Unknown's avatarSarah MarleyLeave a comment
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Live fast, don’t die young

Understanding the trade-offs between survival and reproduction is essential for the study of population dynamics. A recent paper in the Journal of Animal Ecology used a novel statistical framework to reveal previously unknown life-cycle trends for two sympatric bat species. Lead author Dr Antica Culina from the University of Oxford and Netherlands Institute of Ecology, explains the research. Survival and reproduction both require energy, which is generally … Continue reading Live fast, don’t die young

Unknown's avatarSarah MarleyLeave a comment
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A high cost of infidelity for swift parrots

A recent paper published in the Journal of Animal Ecology has found that a chronic shortage of females in a critically endangered parrot species has led to love triangles, sneaky sex on the side, increased fighting between males, and fewer babies.  Here to tell us more are three of the authors: Rob Heinsohn, George Olah, and Dejan Stojanovic. Most birds are at least socially monogamous, … Continue reading A high cost of infidelity for swift parrots

Unknown's avatarSarah Marley1 Comment
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Penguin niche-partitioning resilient to climate change

Competition for limited food resources can be particularly fierce where similarly-related species overlap. Harriet L. Clewlow is a PhD student based at the British Antarctic Survey and linked with University of Exeter and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). Her research investigates how climate change is altering interactions between sympatric Antarctic penguin species and predicting their responses to future climate scenarios. Competition is a widely studied … Continue reading Penguin niche-partitioning resilient to climate change

Unknown's avatarSarah Marley1 Comment
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Explaining population variability in marine fishes

Populations are not stable. But despite decades of study, the drivers of population variability are yet to be fully understood. A new study in the Journal of Animal Ecology suggests that somatic growth variation can be as important as early life‐history survival in driving population fluctuations in some marine fish species. Quantitative ecologist Dr Christine Stawitz led the study as part of her dissertation research with … Continue reading Explaining population variability in marine fishes

Unknown's avatarSarah MarleyLeave a comment